Day 4, Kilkenny

Visiting Kilkenny castle was particularly exciting for me because it was the first thing we saw when we entered the village; not to mention the first castle I have laid eyes on. On our first night in Kilkenny we walked down the parade towards the restaurants 7 pubs in town. We glimpsed the castle over the walls and suspected that it must be where we were headed the next day. Across from a stored called the luck of the Irish carrying fine clothing and accessories, the castle leered over the town making the trees and cars look tiny in comparison.

The next day (the day we went to the castle) I was late to catch up with the class who were standing on the green waiting for the tour to begin. I caught a few shots with my camera of people standing at the doors before we headed to a short film of the history of the castle. Particularly amazing facts stand out in my mind, like for example it was sold to a restoration company in Kilkenny for a mere 50 pounds in the 80’s.

The restoration of the castle was little by little, and the castle seemed empty for its capacity since all of its bounty had been auctioned off by the Butler family in the 30’s. What was left in the castle was quite amazing, especially chairs of leather mahogany and brass7 Chinese hand painted wallpaper in the woman’s withdrawing room.

Portraits of the family were maintained and positioned throughout the castle, but were most prominent in one hallway. They depicted a personality you wouldn’t see by simply reading about the ancestry. Portraits of Elizabeth Butler & other woman attached to the family through marriage where quite breathtaking.

The ceiling of the hallway was burned with images of natural life while the rafters were painted with images of beautiful Irish women (a symbol of Ireland) and different animal heads reminiscing of Norse mastheads to symbolize the crests of different royal families.

Later over dinner in Kilkenny a man who worked at Kytelers Pub told us that even though the castle is now owned by the town the Butler Family would visit the castle yearly as a sort of family reunion. So the traditions of the castle still go on in despite its changes in appearance.

Abby V.D.N.